by Adam Clark

Created on: October 27, 2009   Last Updated: February 16, 2010

Fall can be very inspiring with its array of colors from greens to earth tones. There are many art and craft projects that children can do with during Fall and with Fall as the theme.

#1. Water Color Painting

This is one of the most loved projects ever. Generally if you ask a child what he or she would love to do for a craft and they'd jump to painting if given the option. The messiness, the mix of colors, their mind racing with images that are there in their minds about Fall can be seen in beautiful, amusing and fun ways through their painting. Painting contests too may be help for children to bring out their interpretation of Fall. Once their painting is done, it may be mounted on the wall or inset in a frame.

#2. Make A Picture Frame

Once the painting is done, a frame can be made to set the picture in place and hung up on the wall. For this, a discarded cardboard box will work just fine. Such a box may be the packing for an electric home appliance like a coffee-maker or a simple sheet of cardboard by itself. Cut the cardboard about an inch wider than the painting, on all four sides. About an inch away on either side from the centre at the top, make two holes (spaced two inches apart) and run a ribbon through it. This should be centralized within the top one inch above the painting. Glue the painting to the cardboard. The extra one inch of the cardboard may then be painted in earth tones to give an added finish.

# 3. Field Trips

The making of an herbarium is a must for students of Botany, but with children it can be an hobby. Children may be taken out on field trips to observe the changes in nature as Fall sets in. Note how the leaves of certain trees turn from dark green to pale green , to yellow , orange and red. The brilliance of Autumn can be viewed at different times of the season and notes taken or leaves collected. Flowers (not may during Fall) and leaves that are collected may be tightly pressed between sheets of newspaper, which are in turn tightly bound between two flat planks of wood. An alternative way would be to place the plant specimen between sheets of newspaper and the whole set placed under a heavy trunk or a heavy weight (which covers the entire newspaper area). Change the newspaper daily or on alternate days to help prevent rotting. The end result will be a beautiful display of flattened specimen which are dry and still retain their color. These dry flowers and leaves may then be mounted on hardboard, or cardboard and framed for exhibition.

# 4. Artificial Bonsai

An artificial bonsai is a make believe tree, fashioned according to the original. Children may be taken on field trips to collect branches and leaves of trees. they may return home / to their class and 'plant' or set these branches in tin or pots for the purpose of fashioning a tree. The tin or pot may be decorated / painted or even left as it is. The leaves that are collected can then be stuck on the branches to make an indoor replica of the original outdoor plant.

Children may also be taught to cut out leaves according to the plant design and color them accordingly. These leaves may then be stuck onto the branches to make the tree.

An Artificial Bonsai may also be held as a contest between the different teams in a class, based on what they have observed during their field trip. As you will see, most of the crafts are designed to be both fun and educational; they teach a child to think and do things for themselves.

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